Engineer Our Future

Engineer Our Future was a Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious Award winning event held at Imperial College London on 24 & 25 September, 2016. Over 50 students attended from 16 different state schools across London. Over the weekend the girls were presented with global engineering challenges, taught how to program by Imperial College students and graduates, then set-to-task in developing app-based solutions. The girls met many inspirational women working in STEM from across the scientific community, and they immensely enjoyed the opportunities to network with professionals and hear from current university students. The girls were never in front of a screen for too long: from campus tours, to hands-on water filtration workshops, to improvised comedy, this was a hackathon like no other. Anne-Marie Imafidon, head STEMette, hosted a panel discussion, where parents and girls heard from women working in range of engineering disciplines. The girls’ parents and teachers were invited in for a morning of technical sessions and discussion before watching their daughters took to the stage to present their incredible solutions. From a 100-person cake shaped like the Shard to a video game that helped map deforestation, this was a weekend no one will ever forget.

Don’t listen to me though, here is what two year 11s have to say: Shoumiya, Mill Hill County High School- “I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity, and cannot overstate how beneficial it was in improving my skills in coding and developing my interest for it.” Nicole Ho, Hendon School- “It was incredibly exciting to gain an insight into the careers in engineering, as well as the coding behind the life-changing technology that will surely shape our lives and the future of our planet. “